credit card closing dates changed.

[markio26]

chase and citi have both changed their closing dates, they can vary from 3-5 days, i am told.. i used to make new purchases and pay after the closing date, now, it is a guess, unless i call the bank or sign up for email alerts... they suggest that i do auto pay thru them..
i also called my local bank where i do my e bill payments, they have a new 5-7 day payment scheduling rule too... what gives??? we pay a set amount each month like jeffrey told us to do, and always ahead of the due date... these new changes at the banks could make us possibly incur a late charge due to the fact that the payment could be made at the wrong time, in the middle of the month and not after the closing date... anyone else encountering this????

[kittycat0604]

For Citibank credit card, I usually go to the website to access my account, in the summary page, it will tell when my next closing date is.

[markio26]

citi bank does not yet have the reminder alert setup like chase... i am close to paying off the citibank and don't want to get the email invoice from them... i can access chase and see the c/d easily... thanks for the response..

[Ima saver]

I just get the bill in the mail and try and mail it back right away. I pay it off every month so i guess closing date does not matter.

[Reldon]

On my Chase Card website, it shows me what the next Closing Date is. I usually pay my cable bills right after the closing date.

[Elgin526]

My closing date and my statement available date are a few days apart. I wait for the statement date, then pay online. No auto payments for me! One doesn't offer them and the other only gives you the option of either paying the minimum or paying the balance. Since it's the one we are trying to pay down, neither option works. And I wouldn't trust them, anyway.

I don't actually pay attention to see if the closing date changes, I have Chase and Citibank. I'll have to keep closer track and see if they do!

[boefixepa]

Hum... I don't pay attention to closing dates. I get an e-bill through my on line bill pay service and it has the due date. I type in the amount I want and pay it on the day it's due.

I can see this being a problem though if you find the date moving considerably.

[disneysteve]

I get my CC bill in the mail and I pay it from my online banking account. The bill lists the due date. So no problems there at all. It is very clear when the payment is due. I have no idea if the dates have changed or if they fluctuate. I just make sure I pay in advance of the due date. Actually, I'm not exactly sure what the OP is saying.

[LuxLiving]

I think they were trying to time their new purchases to come after the cut off date so she has more days to get the payment in.

cutsoff on the 25th of Sept
bill goes out on the 27th
due on the 12th of October

needs diapers on 24th but waits and charges them on the 26th of Sept
so they aren't actually due for payment until the 12th of November.

I've been wrong before, so perhaps I'm right this time unless I'm mistaken!

[disneysteve]

Originally Posted by LuxLiving

I think they were trying to time their new purchases to come after the cut off date so she has more days to get the payment in.

I get it now. Thanks.

[Ima saver]

Thanks for the explanation, I wasn't "getting it" either!

[Mathew Green]

I access my account on the CC's website and make my payment online there. As soon as a statement closes, the account summary on the CC website tells me when the next statement will close and when the current payment is due. Soon as I've decided how much I want to pay this month, I schedule the payment for an appropriate date, and they email me when it has posted.

I make all my online payments by scheduling them on the website of the CC or account I owe the money too. That way I get an instant acknowledgement that a payment has been scheduled and a confirmation number as proof.

No way would I trust my checking-account bank or any other third party to make the payment on time. I got burned like that once and it will never happen again.

[Mathew Green]

Originally Posted by LuxLiving

I think they were trying to time their new purchases to come after the cut off date so she has more days to get the payment in.

cutsoff on the 25th of Sept
bill goes out on the 27th
due on the 12th of October

needs diapers on 24th but waits and charges them on the 26th of Sept
so they aren't actually due for payment until the 12th of November.

That's how I read it too, and fwiw I do that constantly. I have one CC that I pay in full every month, and as soon as I know what the next closing date will be, I note it in my checkbook next to this month's payment.

That way if I have delayable expenses that fall in the last few days before the statement closes, especially big ones, I can push those purchases back a few days and get a whole extra month interest free before I have to pay them. Of course that only works if you pay the account in full every month so you won't have to pay any interest.

[JoyJoy]

Banks that are changing their due dates around are probably trying to get people to default on their 0% balance transfer accounts.

M&T Bank recently changed some of the HELOC dates around. (They took over Citibank's HELOC accounts in our area). Our due date was the 12th now it's the 6th.

[disneysteve]

Originally Posted by JoyJoy

Banks that are changing their due dates around are probably trying to get people to default on their 0% balance transfer accounts.

OP wasn't talking about due dates. He/she was talking about statement closing dates. Though I think you are right about the due date issue.

[JoyJoy]

Originally Posted by disneysteve

OP wasn't talking about due dates. He/she was talking about statement closing dates. Though I think you are right about the due date issue.

LOL i'm sorry. I was responding to someone regarding due dates and put my opinion in the wrong slot. Sorry and thanks for bringing this to my attention Disney!

[JoyJoy]

I have Citi and the due date did change. I pay them online the next day after the statement closes.

[markio26]

thanks for all of the interesting comments... in the future, i am gonna pay the bill from the credit card website after the closing date.... always something new to put on a watch list it seems.. lol.

[PRICEPLUS]

Interestingly enough I pay the bill the day it comes in by snail mail. No problems yet.

[LuxLiving]

The comment of OP indicated that the CLOSING DATES had been changed, thus the topic is not paying it on time Priceplus, but by timing their charges to give them the maximum number of days of 'credit' by making the charge right after the cutoff date.